Building great things

This is a blog about building great things. That topic is inherently not simple. It spans a system of creators, technologies, markets, and customers who interact in surprising ways. It can’t be reduced to concepts that are too simple or too quotable — not without losing something important. Should you really trust your gut feelings? Do Minimal Viable Products actually succeed at their goals? What’s the downside of short iterations?

This blog will wrestle to understand great ideas that don’t shy away from the complexity of real life. These ideas are difficult, and their authors don’t all have mainstream following. I’m thinking of people like Donald Reinertsen and Sidney Dekker and Bill Buxton. This isn’t a takedown blog for pop science, pop engineering, or pop business. Just google “Malcolm Gladwell criticism” or “<technology X> sucks” if you’re looking for that.

Content will span all aspects of making great things — from engineering to design to business to organizational culture — depending on what I’m currently obsessed with.